Photo/Illutration Takuya Matsunaga during a news conference on June 21, 2021 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Tokyo police are investigating a tweet that insulted and offended a man whose wife and daughter were killed in a traffic accident caused by an elderly former top bureaucrat in 2019.

Takuya Matsunaga, 35, told The Asahi Shimbun that the tweet was posted as a response to his Twitter post around 11 a.m. on March 11.

“It seemed you were fighting against (the defendant) for nothing but money and recognition,” the reply message said. It was tweeted from an anonymous account.

The reply also mentioned the names of Matsunaga’s wife and daughter and said, “You think (they) in heaven would be delighted by such a father?”

Matsunaga replied, “I will take this to the police.”

The offensive tweet was deleted, but Matsunaga had taken a screenshot of it.

He then received a message from an account apparently of the same person, saying, “To Mr. Matsunaga and his family, I am really sorry.”

The account’s profile said, “I am the one involved in the slander,” with an emoji of hands joined together.

“Mr. Matsunaga, I truly apologize. Forgive me, please,” it said.

However, he still took the matter to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Matsunaga on March 12 told The Asahi Shimbun that he has been harassed by online messages, but the tweet was particularly offensive because it was a reply to his post and “it was vicious and directly targets a bereaved family.”

He said such words could make some people kill themselves.

“I wanted to do something so that other people will not be marred in the same way,” he said.

Police said the words in the tweet could be considered defamatory and will ask Twitter for help in identifying the tweeter, investigative sources said on March 15.

Matsunaga’s wife, 31, and daughter, 3, were killed when a car driven by Kozo Iizuka, 90, ran a red light and sped through a crossing in the Ikebukuro district of the capital on April 19, 2019.

Nine others were injured.

Iizuka, a former top government bureaucrat, blamed a mechanical failure for the crash.

But the Tokyo District Court concluded that Iizuka kept mistakenly pressing the gas pedal instead of the brake.

His five-year prison sentence for negligent driving resulting in death and injury was finalized in September 2021.

Iizuka’s case was the most high-profile in a series of fatal traffic accidents around Japan caused by elderly motorists’ errors.

After the accident, Matsunaga gave several media interviews and used social media to express his views. He was also allowed to question the defendant during his trial.

In November 2019, Matsunaga and other bereaved family members of traffic accident victims urged the transport minister to implement safety measures to “give meaning” to the deaths of his wife and child.

The central government has also decided to strengthen penalties against defamatory messages posted on the internet.

On March 8, the Cabinet approved a draft revision of the criminal law that adds “a year or less jail time” and “a fine of 300,000 yen ($2,540) or less” to the statutory penalty for defamation. It hopes to pass the bill during the current ordinary Diet session.

Related News